Okay, if you got this far I am assuming you care about animals and won’t be eating Turkey tomorrow. But I hope this post also reaches people who maybe are thinking more about the plight of animals and can appreciate the passionate souls out there who are trying to protect them. I am not sharing this post, to convince you to go vegan or vegetarian, but rather to inspire you with a special feature on a ‘Passioneer’ who chose to create a Farm Sanctuary, when she could have done almost anything she wanted. I am speaking of Jon Stewart’s ( the last night talk-show host who is also pretty passionate!) wife Tracey Stewart. Tracey just wrote a beautiful book entitled ‘Do Unto Animals’ A Friendly Guide to How Animals Live, and How We Can Make Their Lives Better. I usually interview authors here at World Wise Beauty, but once her book was released she has overwhelmed with media attention. She was on CBS This Morning with Gayle King and and countless other media outlets you are quite familiar with. Her beautiful book and mission became a high-profile venture and there are thousands of bloggers interested in talking with Tracey. I am on the list! But her Publisher was kind enough to send me a copy of the book to review and this post is one of my few where I don’t interview the author. Would love to when she has more time!

You see, kindness to animals is one of my passions and I share simpatico with Tracey when it comes to practicing my compassionate humane values. Tracey has shared in many interviews that she never wanted to alienate friends and family who weren’t vegans. I always felt that way too. I knew once I became a vegetarian, that I would make people uncomfortable enough by just being one and I wasn’t going to change their choices by lecturing them. I decided to live my values and hopefully through doing so, it would inspire others. That indeed did happen. My ex-husband jumped on board with me slowly but surely, even if he cheated eating Turkey sandwiches at work every now and then! I appreciated his willingness to consider my values and he also seemed to find himself agreeing with most of them in his heart. But the practice of being a vegetarian/vegan takes work and I myself am not a full-fledged vegan today. I do eat some seafood. But I practice conscious living and do not eat meat and especially factory farm animals. I am the one who saves the stink bug crawling and falling from my ceiling! lol

I don’t want to digress, because I am not here to write about vegetarianism, but rather, following our passions and living our values. I will say this, if you are passionate about being kind you will have a hard time not caring about ‘sentient beings’ which are most animals living on this planet with you. Tracey Stewart wrote us a wonderful (and beautifully illustrated!) book to help us understand animals better, and like everything else in life, when we get to know things more intimately, we do become more open and compassionate. Bravo to her for writing this book and sharing her own humble journey to compassionate living and finding her passion. Right after her book was released, Tracey formed a partnership with the Farm Sanctuary who will help her take her advocacy efforts to a larger scale. Read this book, and Follow the Farm Sanctuary on Facebook and get to know a few more animals more personally. Better yet visit a Farm Sanctuary in your area! I promise you will be touched and inspired…

Tracey Stewart is a bona-fide ‘Passioneer’ in every sense of the word, and I think whether you are a vegetarian or not, you will be inspired by her story. What I love about her story is the actual bumpy journey. While she always loved animals, even as a child, she never imagined running a Farm Sanctuary. Tracey got an art degree and worked in every facet of design for many years before she followed her passion. It wasn’t until her husband Jon called her out on her unhappiness with her work, that she began to change the course of her life and followed her passion. He helped her come to the decision to go back to school and she became a Veterinarian Tech. How amazing is that! While Jon was running a successful talk show on TV, Tracey was working everyday for a Veterinarian clinic! Along the way she started her own family with Jon. I don’t want to spoil the story, and reading her own eloquent words is far more impactful. The key takeaway is once she tapped into her passion, she became more centered and joyful and her purpose to love and save animals unfolded.

EXCERPT FROM BOOK:” Last year it became clear that our family was happiest when we had the most opportunities for animal encounters, so we up and moved from the city to rural New Jersey ( yes there is a rural part of New Jersey). Our backyard serves as a makeshift wildlife/rehabilitation center, our home as a foster and permanent rescue for animals, and we’re in the process of being able to provide sanctuary to rescued animals. Our family’s code is to live according to the golden rule; we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. I’m proud that I have been able to show my kids that taking care of others has value and is profoundly empowering and necessary. I feel whole, and I am happy to show that to my kids as well.” ~Tracey Stewart

So on this Thanksgiving I am celebrating a Turkey’s life ALIVE and feel absolutely fantastic about not eating one. After all, it is the side dishes that are so yummy! Thank you to Tracey and all the Passioneers out there who are educating us about the humane treatment of animals and creating sanctuary for them. You make us all want to join the ‘the army of the kind’.

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There is so much violence and ugliness in the world today and I can’t help but point out that behind it always seems to be fear and a lack of love. This week terrorism struck Paris and the world felt their pain. Collectively we felt disgusted and frightened of the senseless violence. For many of us around the world we have experienced this awful horror on our own soil, and know the violence all too well. The images and stories that piled up in media were so visceral that it was hard not to feel that we all are being attacked and threatened on a very personal level. The reality is, we are. This is exactly what terrorism is, and its ultimate weapon is fear. Not knowing where or when an attack or act of violence will happen next, we begin to recoil in fear and stop living and thriving. When we do this they have won, and they have truly conquered when we turn on each other. There are plenty of articles all over the media on this subject and I won’t proselytize to you now. Instead I choose to find beauty in the world, amidst the ugliness of the news this week, and share them with you…

I didn’t have to look far. The most inspiring beauty and inspiration came from a musician and child in Paris, the very place that was so wounded by the terrorist this week. See the videos below and be inspired by a man who chose to respond to the attack on Paris with his music, and a father who chose to remind his son of the beauty that still remains. The pianist did what he probably does everyday of his life. He played his piano. The peace sign on his piano made a statement but his refusal to wallow in fear and hate made a bigger statement. He chose Peace and showed the world that he will go on living his life sharing his beautiful music. His spirit spoke to me and his music reminds us of everything good about the human spirit. What we don’t see in the news enough, is there are millions of beautiful spirits just like him living and choosing peace. So to live in fear, would make no sense for me, because I believe in those spirits who are living and loving despite the ugliness in this world. We are many, and as the war machines rage on, and the media stirs the pot of fear, we are here choosing to ‘keep on’ in peace everyday. See videos below to see how beautiful strong spirits respond to fear. Have a great weekend and take time to LIVE despite the ugliness around you. When you do, we win this war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynsq5ms9lvI

P.S But don’t write me off as Pollyanna, I know there is a lot to be worried about but I seek wisdom from people around the world who have experienced terrorism up close ( and that would also be me on 9/11) and have learned to live with fear by not letting it control their every day life. CNN ran this article yesterday and I appreciated how they gleaned tips and wisdom from several countries. We can learn a lot from each other right now and also come to realize that we are not in this alone.

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So excited to share my Ideal Find and just in time for the holidays! This special home fragrance diffuser is the perfect gift for almost anyone on your list. It can be used in home or office environment and is a wonderful gift to bring as a gift when visiting friends and family. And if there was ever a rationalization to splurge on yourself let it be for the sake of wellness!

Founder: Marcus Rowell ( partner is wife, currently due to give birth next week!)

Authentic Dedication: To help people create beautiful and healing spaces in their lives.

Lauroly Q- Welcome Marcus to World Wise Beauty. Let me get this out right away–I am thrilled to introduce your product ‘White Orchid Ultrasonic Diffuser’ as an ‘Ideal Find’ and I believe it is the perfect gift to give for the holidays! I think it’s a great gift to give to the host/hostess of holiday parties and Thanksgiving is next week! I love aromatherapy and have featured some wonderful companies producing natural essential oils in this very department of World Wise Beauty. Your product is lovely, easy to use and most importantly safe to use. I was also impressed with your digital website ‘Perfect Mind Perfect Body’. Many products are developing content and communities around their product lines, but your platform is earnest and very well done. Did you always have an interest in natural health and lifestyle? Share with us, what inspired your enlightening business venture?

Marcus Rowell and Wife

Marcus Rowell: Thank you Lauroly for the kind words. I am so happy you like the website and our White Orchid Diffuser. We are really excited about the feedback we’ve had so far. It’s been overwhelming positive. We are honored to be featured among the other amazing products you spotlight in “Ideal Finds.” I’ve always had a passion for natural health, but I would say my passion really intensified throughout the last 5 years.

One particular instance that really fired up my passion involved my elderly grandmother. I remember noticing her taking her daily regimen of medicine. I specifically remember being surprised at how many pills she was taking. There must have been 10 pills. Out of pure curiosity, I asked her what each pill was for. I remember her telling me some were for high cholesterol, diabetes, itching, trouble sleeping, and more. I went home that night and started to explore the side effects of each medication. What I found absolutely shocked me. Most of the medicines she was taking was actually for side effects of other medicines. The cholesterol medicine she was taking was causing her to itch. The itch medicine she was taking, gave her insomnia. The antidepressant she was taking to help her sleep, caused her to feel dizzy at times. The list went on and on. The cure was literally worse than the original illness. No one had taken the time to tell her that if you just lower your cholesterol everything else will go away. Instead, whenever she complained about an illness, she was just given a new and “better” medicine to take.

As I tried to tell my family about some natural foods that my grandmother should add/remove from her diet, I was met resistance…. “That won’t work, some illnesses you actually NEED medicine for when you get older.” This way of thinking is what inspired me to create Perfect Mind Perfect Body. I want to people to know that there are natural healthy alternatives. And they actually work! And they don’t have negative side effects!

The mission of Perfect Mind Perfect Body is to inspire people all around the world to stop settling for a life dictated by pain and illness and to go out and live their healthiest life. Essential oils are a part of that natural alternative. I use them daily. The White Orchid came about because I needed a way to diffuse these oils, but I could never find one that was elegant enough to put in my living room. While there are many ultrasonic diffusers on the market, I found that it was nearly impossible to find one that was functional AND sophisticated. That’s the great thing about the White Orchid. It actually accentuates the room, without compromising the purpose of diffusing the essential oils.

Lauroly Q- What a hard awakening to discover your grandmother had been lead down the wrong path when it came to her healing. Sometimes wisdom comes from watching other people struggle, but your family is lucky to have you as a great model. The bright side is, the lessons learned has motivated you to share wellness wisdom with everyone. I can relate to your mission! Now let’s get to the technical part of White Orchid. What is an ultrasonic diffuser? Please explain for those who are unfamiliar with the term and tell us how it works.

Marcus Rowell:Great Question! There different ways to diffuse essential oils into the air. The most popular either involve heat or cold water. Using heat is not really advised because it can alter the chemistry of the essential oil, which can remove the therapeutic effect of the oil. Not to get too technical, but an ultrasonic diffuser is filled with cold water. A few drops of the essential oil is added to the water. A frequency vibrates through the water into the air. The vibration disperses the oil into the air. The oil is never heated so the oil chemistry is preserved. It may sound complicated, but all you have to do is add water, add a few drops of oil and enjoy.

Lauroly Q- As I shared, I was really impressed with your website which you created as an open forum for health & wellness enthusiasts. One of the most interesting articles was posted by you, entitled ‘6 Essential Oils That Increase Creativity and How to Use Them’. This of course makes me think ‘White Orchid’ could also be the perfect ‘Kris Kringle’ office gift or for anyone working in an office environment. What essential oils increase creativity?

Marcus Rowell: No matter what we do, we all can use some creativity at times. Whether it’s at work, during a hobby or when you are creating something. We all have the ability to be creative, but sometimes the stresses of our life can cloud our mind and make this process difficult. Eucalyptus will help to rejuvenate the mind. If you have the blues, patchouli is really good. If you can settle those racing thoughts in your mind, try cypress. That’s just to name a few. It’s a great gift for the office or home. I diffuse these oils and others everyday.

Lauroly Q- What other things does aromatherapy help with that we may not know? I should note here, what I also like about White Lotus Ultrasonic Diffuser is you can use your own essential oils, which means you be selective about the quality of the oils. May I suggest one of WWB’s essential oil ‘Ideal Finds ‘Golden Earth’. Love the line and their focus on wellness, wisdom and harmony!

Marcus Rowell: Haha…How much time do you have? I use essential oils for everything. If you get motion sickness, ginger oil works well to get rid of the queasy feeling. I take with me in the car or on airplanes. When I need to freshen my home, I diffuse Eucalyptus Lemon. Not only will completely neutralize a bad odor, but it will freshen the room as well.

After a long day when I want to relax, I diffuse lavender to destress. I’m normally a light sleeper, so it really helps me get deeper sleep. When I want to set a romantic mood, I diffuse Balsam of Peru essential oil. It has a vanilla like smell with a touch of cinnamon. I could go on and on.

Lauroly Closing: Well if there is anything we are happy to go on about, it is certainly healing aromatherapy! Thank you for visiting World Wise Beauty Marcus. Wishing you great success with your new product. I encourage everyone to visit his website and learn more about the product. What retail outlets can we find ‘White Orchid’? I noticed you were offering a special introductory discount on your website. I would jump on this before it goes to Amazon! Is that just for the month of November? Give us the scoop!

Marcus Rowell: Thank you so much for featuring our new product. Right now you can find the White Orchid on our website and PerfectMindPerfectBody.com. You can Preorder and save 35% for the month of November. In December, we will begin shipping the diffusers, so you will be able to find them other places such as Amazon. It’s a great gift for the holidays that everyone can use.

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Find your passion, explore your passion, live your passion. This is what WWB’s Passioneer department is all about! I am so excited to present this new monthly column ‘Passioneer Library’ because I get to fulfill my passion, which is to share knowledge and wisdom I have found in wonderful books! I can’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t recommend a book, share a book or quote a book when I wanted to encourage someone to explore and learn. Equally and magically books always seem to find me exactly when I need wisdom or inspiration. Does that happen to you?

Well if it hasn’t happened, I hope the Passioneer Library becomes your ‘go to place’ for books that will ‘feed your passion’. Passion often leads to your purpose, and your purpose is often your calling. But keep in mind, your passion doesn’t have to be your job. There are all kinds of ways to tap into your passions, and the idea is to bring them to life, and enjoy them to the fullest. This month we focus on ‘creativity’ and I present two fantastic books that are sure to get your creative juices flowing. I myself can’t wait to read the first book featured because it was just released. Let’s read it together! The second book is an older book I have read and it is a must have for the Passioneer’s library. I often recommend the author’s other National bestseller ‘Flow’ (which is a classic now around the world) to people who are interested in the creative process. Happy reading and exploring…

P.S In addition to this monthly column, I also interview high-profile authors, experts and visionaries who are Passioneers and will inspire you to pursue your passions in life. I invite you to take a look at some of the wonderful people I have featured here at WWB who are out there living their passion, and also making the world a better place. I promise it will make you feel rainbows up and down your spine! How is that for a visual?!

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

The classic study of the creative process from the national bestselling author of Flow creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals what leads to these moments—be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab—so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people’s lives. Drawing on nearly one hundred interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his thirty years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the “tortured genius” is largely a myth. Most important, he explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world.